Thank you for your service and sacrifice. My father was career Navy, and my wife’s father was wounded with the Marines on Tarawa. We have some sense, therefore, of the sacrifices you make and risks you accept, and honor you for it. Thank you.

Hi, I am trying to get my family and extended family (we are retired military) to WDW May 1-8, 2011. The free dining skipped our time frame. I have my fingers crossed for another military code after the current expires at the end of this month. Disney doesn’t seem to publish this information as readily as other codes. Where can I found out when they will be released asap to hopefully get us all there? Thanks for the help; I love your sight although I am very new to it.

hi i want to find out how it would cost for a family of six for april 11 until april 18 2011.my husband is a veteran (Army). we are trying to take our young kids to disney but we need to find out if we can afford it.airfare,hotel and tickets to the part.can you please let me know how much it would cost for to go on does days? it would be two adults and a 17,16,7, and 5. thank you

Iris–there’s no easy answer to that. Above all it depends on where you stay. Your family is large by how both Disney and Shades of Green figure this, so you will need either a larger (and more expensive) room or two smaller less expensive rooms. You may want to check into some off-site options (non-Disney hotels).

See the left side links for where to stay, and under that large families. That will give you a sense of your options. See also lower on the left side the link to “the Tightwad’s Guide.” In there you’ll find some thoughts on staying off-site.

You are probably gonna see between $150-300 a nite for hotel rooms, and an average of around $300 over the trip for each person for tickets, unless you use the military ticket deal, which though chepaer will not really give you enough days in the parks. Add to that $30-50 per day per person for food, and more for transportation.

Add this up, and if it seems possible, I’d advise you to use a travel agent–they are no-charge, and can save you a lot of research and trouble.

There’s a link to how to find and use a travel agent lower on the left side as well.

My family and my brother’s family will be staying at Shades of Green this coming August. We booked the Palm Suite there which is the only 3 bedroom Suite there. I was informed that they dont offer the dining plan with that room (which I think is ridiculous seeing what we are paying for the room!!) Do you know if you can buy a dining plan seperately and if so are there any discounts on them? Thanks again for you help in advance

hey dave–my dad is retired army so we are able to get a really good deal on a military timeshare outside of the park. they offer a free shuttle to and from the park morning and night. i was wondering if you don’t get the park hopper option, is it possible to get from park to park using the bus system at disney? just in case, we want to leave in the afternoon…the animal park is closest to where we will stay, but if we are in magic kingdom–can we get there on the bus or do we have to go in the park to do so? does my question make sense? please let me know. we plan to go the week of dec 3rd…i’m so excited!

Yes, you can get from park to park using Disney’s transportation system even if you don’t have park hopper add-ons to your tix.

What you can’t do is go to more than one park in a day–you can go to the same park multiple times in a day, just not a different park.

Magic Kingdom park transport is via the Transportation and Ticket Center–you get there from the Magic Kingdom via monorail or ferryboat. Once there, you can get buses to the Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios, or the monorail to Epcot. At the other parks, buses to the other parks are at the main bus depot in front of the park.

Hey! My family and I are currently on vacation at the orlando location for Disney. When it comes to hotels check out http://www.govvacationrewards.com, we are staying at the country inn and suites for 50 bucks a night and it is in excellent condition (comparable to holiday inn express), and it is located in the hotel district, so this makes you very close to everything. Also one thing that is not mentioned about the salute tickets is that “fast pass” is included! I can tell you right now that the fast pass is a life saver with little ones (with little patience and high expectations!)

hey dave its anthony again quick question im a veteran so does the miltary discount work for me or is that only active military personel also if it does work what do i need cause all i have is a copy of my ddform 214 which states im a veteran and stuff hopefully they still care for the veteran lol!!!!!!!

Anthony–I know career retired are eligible, but am not sure about regular vets who weren’t career. If you aren’t career retired, I suggest sending an email to Disney Military Sales with your specific service… see http://disneymilitarysales.com/ . (And thanks for serving!!!)

He has to be physicially present at a ticket booth at WDW to activate the tickets–he doesn’t have to stick around, or go into a park or anything, but he has to be there long enough for this one-time activation…

Hi Dave, WONDERFUL and very helpful website! You’ve done quite the job! My question is, my father in law is retired military and wanted to send us on a Disney Vacation (2 adults, 2 kids 4/3 & 1 infant) but he isn’t going so would we still be able to use the military ticket discount if he isn’t there to show his id? Thank you so much!

Hi! My husband is deployed in Iraq for a year but is coming home for his 2 weeks in Sept. The deployment does not end until next spring. I know that there are discounts for military but was wondering if they have any special discounts for deployed families. Also, I have seen a sign around base for $99 2 parks in 3 days tickets but have not seen anything on the site about that deal. Thanks! And P.S. we already have plans to go to Disney for a week in Sept and we live in IL.

There’s no special deal for people deployed, but there are both room rate and tickets deals for military families. The tix are for 4 days–the deal you are seeing is likely for Disneyland, not Disneyworld (as it has 2 parks and Disney World has 4).

Thanks! Another question. We are already booked for a condo through AFV Club but I was wondering about Shades of Green for a future trip. Do they have any rooms that have a fridge or microwave or anything where you don’t have to buy every meal out? I think the answer is no but I thought I’d check.

My question is I am a vet honarable discharged from airforce and my sister is retired she is joining us for a trip to disney but wont be able to get there the same day as we do can she give us a photocopy of her ID so we can go to the park before she arrives we have tickets from ITT.

Hi Steve–she has to be physicially present to activate the tickets. (Disney does this to keep these discounted tickets from being re-sold to ineligble people.) Is she getting there the next day, what time do you arrive, and where are you staying? I may have some thoughts on things to do the day you arrive…

She will not arrive untils 2 days after us. We would like to go ahead to the park. Our days will be slightly differnt. She will still be there when we are ready to head home. She will send a photo copy of her Id if that is acceptable. Is there a solution to our problem? I was unable to get the oringinal days from work we had planned on. Thanks for your quick response. She is also willing to fax her information if needed.

Dave and Steve, what Dave stated earlier is Disney’s policy. The military member MUST be present to activate the tickets, a copy of the ID will not do. As far as Disney is concerned tickets and a photocopy of an ID could have been purchased on ebay by an ineligible person.

Steve you didn’t retire but are you perhaps permanently disabled with a military ID with a DAVPRM status? If so you are eligible to activate the tickets yourself.

No we cannot change our dates. It will be a while before we can get days off from work again. also I do have a honorable discharge from airforce but, not disabled. There does not seem to be a solution to our dilemma and my son was really looking forward to going to Disney but we already have spent a lot of money on these tickets. We have a legit reciept and they did not come off e-bay by an ineligble person they were legitimately purchased from a ITT on base by my sister and now I have tickets that I cannot use because she is unable to come to the park to activate them. i am just saying there should be a way to either change those tickets over and pay the difference or something. The ITT told my sister that they will not refund the price of the tickets. She has the tickets that she needed already but just cannot go due to family illness. So in a nutshell we are backed in a corner with no solution to be found. What is the happiest place on earth to me right now is definetly not my happiest place!

My daughter is married to a currently active Marine. Can she and her husband purchase military-discounted tickets for me, my wife and 5 other children to use? None of the rest of us are military. Thanks!

Sorry to say the answer is no. The current Disney military deal is for four day tickets; only 6 can be active at a time; and the military member (or spouse) has to be at Disney World in person to activate them.

The Marine/spouse may be able to buy one day tickets on base tax-free, which will save a little….

Planning on going to DW next week. We have a large/blended family…2 adults +7 kids. Do you know if DW will honor tickets purchase for large families with the military discounted tickets? Also, what information do they take and retain. I’m really concerned with our personal information (SSN, DOB, address etc). Do you require ID cards for kids over 10 and do they take their DOB too? Thanks…any help would be great!

First–just to be clear–you can’t buy the tix themselves at WDW–you may not have been implying that, but I wanted to be sure! If you need to know where you can buy them let me know and I’ll send you a link..

Second, Disney’s policy is that large families can exceed the 6 tickets at a time policy. Not all base people get this tho…

Third, only the military member needs to show an ID at the parks to activate the tix, and they will also then collect this person’s SSN at this time–but that’s it regarding IDs…

I plan on getting my tickets at the military base (and you are correct – they don’t understand that more than 6 can be purchased if family is large) But I’ll go to multiple ITT ticket offices if needed. And was told that the water park option is added at the WDW gate when the tickets are activate. Is this true?
Our blended family consists of 3 kids that are mine from a previous marriage. They have different last names and will not be with us when we initially activate our tickets. So I was just wondering what information they need about them or if this would be a problem. I read that they take finger prints but not sure if they do that at activation or at the gate. If at activation since we have to activate them all at once, it may pose a problem since they will not be there.

Hey Fay–they can be activated at different times…the member has to be there at each activation.

The finger scan is something that all WDW ticket holders have to do, and is not unique to the military tix…I’m not sure about the waterparks point other than if you bought it as part of your tix it will be activated at the same time as the park tickets are activated…

OK. Thanks!! One last question (I think). My kids should be able to arrive, but if for some reason they aren’t…who is considered extended family? Just our kids or can my brother and his family use the 3 extra military tickets that we purchased? My husband will be there to active the tickets in this cas as well.
Sorry for all of the questions! Thanks for your patience and cooperation.

My husband is a Marine reservist. Does this make him(us) eligible for the military discount? Also, if it does and we use the military discount to get our tickets to the park and then use the Military discount for rooms at one of the resorts can we add on a dining plan?

My husband should be able to sign up for his vacation soon and hopes to get a week off in February so we can go to Disney World. My question is I want to do a couple character meals will we be able to book those in Nov. for a February trip or is that not far enough in advance. We haven’t decided if we will be adding a meal plan to use for these.

Hey, we just booked a vacation to DW…our send trip. Apparently military members can now purchase military tickets at the gate. Last time, we spend a good amount of time traveling to and from Shades of Green to purchase them because our tickets did not arrive in time at our local base ticket office.

I have a question. I have seven kids. Ages 15, 13,11,9 , 18 months and twins 5months old . Do I pay for the little ones. We have never been able to go anywhere. I have to plan to the last penny! Hotel and park! Any info would be great thanks.

Dave, I have a question and gotten different answers from WDW…We are using 4 military tickets for our family on sat, sun, mon, tues… My MIL flies in on Sunday, and will be going with us Mon-thurs…..we got a military ticket for her (total of 5)…. we are going to upgrade our tickets on monday to a florida select weekday pass, so we can go the rest of the week for just a few dollars, more….so can my husband ( who is active duty ) activate our passes on saturday, and then my MIL pass on monday? or do they all have to be activated at the same time? I had 2 WDW employees and a shades of green employee tell me that this would be fine, as long as my hubby was there to activate it on monday, but 1 WDW employee said they all have to be activated the same time, so if my MIL got there on monday, she could only use the tickets mon and tues? This doesn’t seem right….I just wanted to make sure with someone else that what we are going to do is legit, and we don’t end up having to buy my mil another 2 day pass inorder to go with us!

Per Disney’s rules:
1. All AFS tickets have to be activated at the same time.
2. Everyone having a ticket activated must be there for the activation.

But, Disney tickets castmembers seem to have wide latitude on what they can do and I’ve heard reports of them activating tickets for members of the party who couldn’t be there among many other stretching of the rules things.

Activation has nothing to do with the number of days remaining on the tickets. Days are deducted from the ticket when you put the ticket in the theme park turnstile as you enter. So the MIL’s first day will be deducted the first time she enters a theme park.

All the activation process does besides turning the ticket on is:
1. Check the total tickets activated during the life of the offer on the member’s ssn as well as how many are active currently, and
2. Enter a name against each ticket in disney’s computer system.

What I’d do is, try to activate all 5 together Saturday. Take a photo-copy of your MIL’s drivers license. This will (Hopefully) show the ticket is for her (not to be scalped) and they will code her name against the ticket.

If they won’t let you do it because she isn’t there then you can always go back to activate her’s when she gets there and say they wouldn’t let you do it before.

We have a group of 12 family members going to Disney on 3/10-3/17. My husband is retired military, so we both have a card. Can we both purchase 6 tickets for our group and get them activated. Also, are there any discounts for the meals with the characters?

Me and my family will be visiting Disney World March 12 through March 16. We purchased the 4 day plus water park and fun cards. I would like to know does this discount include the fast pass and if not how can I get that offer? Secondly, I would like to know if this pass is 1 day at the water park and 4 days of park hopping (totalling to 5 days) or enjoying all the fun in 4 days?

I am going to Disneyworld at the end of the month and will be getting myself a military 4-day ticket. Can I also purchase additional tickets to be used by friends at a later date? They won’t be going util the summer and I won’t be going with them.. but I was hoping to purchase and activate the discounted tickets for them to use when they come…?

I just stumbled upon this site. We are planning our first big family trip to Disney for the week of Thanksgiving. The Armed Forces Salute discounts all expire Sept 30, 2012. My hubby is deployed through October so we can’t use it. We’ve been waiting to plan Disney and use the discount and its going to expire. Any chance it’ll be renewed or how soon will they post it if so because we have to plan. Its awful for the deployed soldiers and their families to not be able to use the discount. Help!

Sorry, but there’s no way to know…they may not do it at all, they may announce it next week, they may announce it in November. Ir they don’t extend it, they may never announce that they aren’t doing it…it just won’t be there…I would plan on the basis that it won’t be happening…that way it’s only upside if it does.

You probably already know this…but Thanksgiving week is a lousy time to go because of crowds…

My ex husband is stationed in the Army in Germany and I am taking our kids to Disney World next week. Can the kids use their military id’s to purchase the discounted military Disney tickets since their dad cannot be with them? We are divorced so I do not have an id but all 3 children do with their dad’s SS# on them.

I’m not sure you were correct with Angie (3/13/12 @6:36 am)… my understanding through Shades of Green you CAN buy these tickets as a family member with an ID. We have done this in the past with no problems.

Sandi, I was talking about the salute tickets, and may have misunderstood Angie’s question…Shades sells tickets to those staying there or eligible to stay there, and I’m not certain Angie’s eligible..either way I’ll double check and reach out to her–and thanks!!!

Dave you are right for the Armed Forces Salute, only the member or current spouse can buy/activate these tickets.

Sandi is right that at Shades of Green their ticket office’s policy is “A Military Identification Card or Department of Defense Identification Card must be presented at time of purchase.” So the kids should be able to purchase their tickets at Shades (with their mother paying if it’s allowed? or perhaps they’d have to pay with cash themselves).

Angie, you could call the Shades ticket number to ask, (407) 824-1403, you often have to leave a voicemail with your question and they’ll call you back.

Angie and Sandi, if you watch Pawn Stars…Steve at http://militarydisneytips.com is the expert I call in when I’m out of my depth…the guy with the hat, or the guy with the car restoration shop…anyway, I’ll email Angie to make sure that she sees that Steve agrees with Sandi for tix other than the Military Salute!

hi, I am going to Disney world this summer with my family and my girlfriend. We are getting 4 day hopper passes and I saw that if you have a military I’D you get a discount. Her dad is in the military but will not be with us, will she be able to get the discount?

Hi there, My parents (my dad is retired USAF) live in Texas and my family (my husband, myself and daughter under 2 yo) live in South Florida and we are thinking about having them purchase the 4 salute tickets for their next trip to visit us in May . Since it likely we won’t use all the 4 day tickets in one weekend visit to Orlando, could my husband and I go back to the parks and use the remainder of the tickets with out my dad being there or do the tickets need to be activated by a military member each time we visit WDW? Florida resident tickets are only good until May and the September expiration of the salute tickets is an amazing deal! Thanks so much!

I am wondering if anyone knows if there will be a discount on the tickets for the parks for the month of December 2012. That is when my family and I are going. Please let me know if you know of any discount or your opinion if you think there will be one is welcomed.

What I was referring to was the Salute tickets for disney 4 day hoppers (138.00) I was wondering if they were going to be extended thru Dec 2012. And if so what month would they announce it. The way the economy is I am hoping they will consider it. We are planning our trip for our family Dec1- 8th. Please let me know what you think …..your opinion.

Hi Jan, I hear from my sources that the discussion is continuing, so it’s possible. Because Disney has to work with DOD on this, it gets complicated and time consuming, so even if it happens, we may not hear until October–or later. I’d say the odds are better than 50-50…

My mom is going to Disney on the 10th and may dad is retired military. Can she buy and activate tickets for us even thoug we won’t be going until the 20th? I spoke with a few people at different places and have gotten different answers.

Your mom with her military spouse retired ID can activate up to 5 Armed Forces Salute tickets at a time. Your dad can do up to six. Technically all of the people having tickets activated are required to be there at the time of activation.

But people have had luck activating tickets for their whole party even though everyone wasn’t there. I recommend your sending them photo copies of your licenses to have when they attempt to activate your tickets ahead of time.

If that doesn’t work, I assume you are joining them while they are still there, so they could activate yours once you arrive.

Hi, I’m planning a trip to WDW the end of Sept. 2012. MY husband is active military so we are going to purchase the Military discounted tickets. Any chance that the Military will have 2013 discounted tickets. I would prefer to go in March of 2013. WDW is very $$$$ so I don’t want to miss out on the chance to take my 6 children.

My husband and I would like to take our 4 kids ages 12,11,10 &8 to Disney. We have never bee and have NO IDEA where to start. Wanted to see if you would be able to point us in he right direction. We want to stay at the shades of green and he is a major in the gaurd, just returned this past November from Iraq. Would love to stay a week. But most importantly we need to know ballpark how much to budget for food, park lodging. We will be driving.

My husband and I are planning a trip To Disney soon with our adult children. From my understanding we can purchase up to 6 military discounted tickets. My question is since it is going to be just 4 of us can we also use the remaining two discounted tickets during that time? So instead of 4 days at the park one person can spend 8 days at the park? Thank you for your time!

I have a slight preference toward the dates: 11/30/13 – 12/20/13, however my concern is, I know my children will want to experience the water parks, and I’m wondering about the typical weather during that time and if the water would be far too cold for them to play in. They love to swim, but it would be a shame if they got sick on a dream vacation.

I would greatly appreciate any insight/advice, such as pros/cons you may have to comment on in relation to the time periods listed above.

I would also like to know if I qualify for military benefits/deals. I served in the Navy back in 2006 and I was medically discharged. I am not career military / retired. I do not have any military ID with which to present to a customer service representative at one of the resorts in WDW, however, I do have my DDR214, which if acceptable, I could provide as proof. Would that suffice? Or do the benefits/deals only apply to active duty and/or career military / retired?

In addition, I currently Work as a civilian at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. Would my employment in a private agency that is contracted with the Department of Defense, be a qualifying factor in any potential benefits/deals?

In advance, thank you for your time reading this and I look forward to hearing back from you.

Right now there are no specific deals that go beyond Sept 2012. That may change, but for the moment that’s the situation. Vets of your type have not been eligible for the biggest of these deals–unless 100% disabled with an ID with DAVPROM on it.

Hi,
Based on reading the comments above, I think I know my answer but I’m going to ask anyway. My fiance is is Afghanistan, I have all his information, can get a copy of his LES, ID, I can even have him email or contact DW or Shades of Green if necessary. I do not have a military ID as we wont be married until May 24, 2013, when he returns and I was wanting to take my two daughters to DW. If he purchases the military discounted tickets, can we use them at the gate? My fiance will not be present as he will still be overseas.

Hi Alicia, you are right–you can’t activate the tix. One option is if you have close friends in the service stationed nearby–e.g. Tampa–the friend can by the tix for you and come to the turnstile and activate them for you… you’ll have to pay for one extra ticket (the friend’s)

So I have a variation of one of the other questions from above. We have a family of six but are also thinking of taking my daughters friend to DW with us. She is also a military dependent and has her own ID. Will they let her activate her ticket with her dads info that is on her id since my husband cant do it? Thanks!!

My husband is forward deployed on sub patrol. I want to purchase tickets through ITT on base for my daughter’s birthday in November. I am his spouse but I keep seeing that the AD member must be there to activate the tickets. Am I misunderstanding this? Can I not just purchase the tickets as I’m the spouse and I have access to ITT?

Second part, can I purchase a ticket for an extended family member via ITT? My sister is going with us to help me with the children. She’s paying her own way but I want to at least help with her ticket cost since she’s helping me with two little ones.

Hi Stephanie! Yes, as the spouse you can both buy and activate, but I think you can only buy and activate a total of 5 (including yours). I’m gonna check on this 5 vs 6 issue so come back here. The 4 tix that are not yours can then be used by anyone you choose, including your sister!

Since Disney started offering these Armed Forces Salutes in January 2009 these policy has been that if the spouse goes without the military member they are only allowed a total of 5 tickets, one of which is for themselves, like Dave said.

Disney doesn’t make these offers easy to interpret, often posting and passing out conflicting information. While Disney’s website says a spouse may activate 6 tickets, the Disney tickets Department says 5.

Will you have more than 5 in your party?

I have heard from my readers that spouses have activated 6 ticket without their sponsor, but understand that is not the Ticket’s policy.

Here is what I recommend in these situations. You mentioned getting the tickets at home, if you need more than 5 wait till you get to WDW and buy them from a Disney ticket booth. You’ll pay sales tax there, but you will be buying and activation the tickets at the same time from the person who has decided how many they’ll let you activate.

If you were to buy 6 of these non-refundable tickets at home and then got to WDW and the person in the ticket booth would only activate 5 you’d be out the money.

And yes, you can use your tickets for yourself and anyone else you want to.

I have a huge family. 4 adults and 4 children. I am active duty military and we are going to disney 12/16-12/21. We are staying at the shades of green. Both the shades of green website and the disney website states that i can purchase up to 6 tickets. that leaves us with two tickets left to purchase at regular price. the shades of green is offering 4 day park hopper option tickets at 154 dollars. i can buy only six of those. i was looking for the regular price and it seems like each of those are going for an arm and a leg. It just seems ridiculous that the regular price is $296!!!!!Is there a ticket that i can buy for 4 day park hopper option like the other 6 tickets for somewhere around 150-200? Any help is appreciated.

Hi dave, I’ve just returned for leave on active duty. I’m currently in Florida having bought my tickets etc, is there any other offers etc I can use whilst here to benefit I.e upgrades/fast pass. I am uk military.

Hi Dave,
I am retired Army Reserve and my husband and I were thinking of spending Thanksgiving Day at WDW. Are we eligible for discounted military tickets, and are they usable on Thanksgiving Day or is that a ‘black-out date’?

Hi Dave, I’m retired military and am looking at the four day park hopper pass. The question I have is, once activated must the four days be used consecutively or do I have until the ticket expiration date in September to use any unused days?
Thanks
Barry

I am planning a Disney trip for March. We are a blended family of 8. My husband is retired and we will be using his ID for 6 of the tickets but we still need 2 more. My 3 children are Gold Star Survivors (their father was killed in Iraq). My question is can we purchase the last 2 tickets under their father’s name and use their military IDs to get them in? I also read further up that for larger families you can purchase more then 6 tickets. Is this true and if so is there somewhere I can print proof of that to take with me to buy the tickets? Thanks in advance!

Kindell, if I’m reading you correctly, you are a single family with six kids from prior marriages. If they are all now your kids, your husband should be able to get 8 total tix for your immediate family, as there’s a “large immediate family” exception to the limit of 6. I’m gonna check with an expert, but my take is you are fine, but you probably want to buy the tix ahead of time at a base in case you need to provide any extra paperwork… (Ooops–this last point is wrong–see Steve’s comment below.)

Dave asked me to tag in. He’s right, as long as all the kids are your husband’s dependents, you fall under the “large family” rule.

There is nowhere online where you can see this printed by Disney, but I have seen internal documents which state it. No one I know of has had ever had an issue with this. All you need is everyone’s IDs.

You can only do this at Disney ticket booths though (and have to pay sales tax with them) as military resellers (Shades of Green and Base Ticket Offices) are limited by contract to 6.

You could ask at your ITT, but I doubt they will do it and will even go so far as to tell you it is not possible at all, because usually all they know is what is in their contract.

As far as your first husband, you might have carried forward his benefit (for Disney)(depends on his status) but once you remarried that benefit ended. (hope that is clear)

One more question. I am under my current husbands benefits but my 3 girls still carry ID cards and are dependents of their deceased father so my question is that because they do not carry my husband on their ID card we would not be eligible for the large family clause? Thanks again for all the help!

This could potentially be a big issue. Disney grants the Armed Forces Salute to current and retired military members or their spouse. When an eligible member is deceased the benefit transfers to their military ID eligible spouse. This benefit ends when the spouse remarries, as dos an ID with that member’s ssn.

The AFS discount never extends to the dependent children in any situation (current member, retired, divorce situations, or death).

So what I recommend is, once you get to the Disney ticket window explain your situation. The Disney cast member may or may help (they do seem to have a wide latitude to do so). But if they don’t ask to speak the their Lead, Supervisor, and Manager (that’s the Disney “chain of command”) they may help once you involve them.

If all else fails you can go to Shades of Green to get the slightly discounted military Magic Your Way tickets for the 3 girls.

If you are arriving later in the day and plan on doing the theme parks the next day you might want to do this in the afternoon or evening your day of arrival rather than in the morning as it could take a while especially if you have to get over to Shades.

My family is planning our first trip to Disney in March. Our boys are 2 and 3. we want them to experience Disney, but not get overwhelmed, so we are planning a shorte trip (also we want to be cost-efficent considering their ages). What would be the best place to stay and who would it be best to book our trip through. My husband is cureently in the Nat’l Gaurd. Thanks.

As a Guardsman your husband is eligible to participate in Disney’s Armed Forces Salute which runs through 28 Sept 2013. The AFS offers 4-Day Disney tickets at about 50% off regular prices and discounts of 30-40% off regular rates at Disney resorts.

Shades of Green is a military owned and operated resort on WDW property where room rates are based upon rank. He’s also eligible to stay there. Shades sometimes runs discounts, but right now there isn’t one for March.

I am planning a trip to Disney World for my son and I in the Spring. We have recently become a Gold Star family and I would like to know if the Military Salute discounts still apply to us. If not, do you know of any discounts offered to Gold Star families?

You would also be eligible normally for Stays and tickets at Shades of Green, the military owned and operated resort on WDW property. But Shades also has a 50% off program for those who have lost their sponsor.

But unfortunately if you or your son were not the dependent of the fallen warrior (i.e. they were another son or daughter) there would be no discount that I am aware of in conjunction with a Disney World Stay.

Is there any way to get around the 6 ticket thing? I will be there in February for a conference with 7 people (I’m related to none) but already purchased 8 tickets at an ITT. Will I have a problem activating these or will WDW make me pay the difference for 2 regular 4-day hoppers?

Steve,
we are going to Disney World for 5 days over the Spring Break holiday (April 1-5). Unfortunately, the Military salute tickets for $156 are blacked out for Spring break! We plan to spend two days at Disney world and would like the Hopper pass for both days. Where is the best place to get tickets like this since we cannot use the military salute? The ITT office only sells 3 day hopper passes. Are there any reputable online discount tickets sites I should try?

As Dave said, be prepared for wall to wall people during that time. The reason they don’t offer the Armed Forces Salute ticket or room discount at that time is that they are so full with those paying full price.

I know that’s when your kids have vacation, but so does everyone else…

So your ITT office only sells 3-day Magic Your Way hoppers? You could ask them if they will order the 2-day hoppers that you want (they can). Or you can buy them at Shades of Green or the Orlando ITT once your are in Orlando.

My dad – retired military – wants to buy our disneyworld tickets for use this summer and we saw the salute to military deal. He is not going with us but we have a friend in Florida who’s husband is military. She said she would go with us to activate the tickets. Can she activate our 6 tickets (we have a family of 6), without actually having a ticket for herself or going in?

Dawn, she has to both buy them herself–she can’t activate those your dad buys–and (I’m wrong on this first point–see Steve’s comment below) use one herself. So that would get you only 5 tix–still a pretty good savings!!

Dawn’s dad can buy the 6 tickets and then her friend can activate them. There is nothing which connects the 2 transactions. When they arrive to activate them, Disney has no way of knowing where or by who they were purchased. No receipt is required.

But as you said the friend must activate one of the 6 for themselves. The 6th ticket Dawn needs would have to be a regular military discounted Magic Your Way ticket, which could be purchased at the same base where her dad gets the AFS tickets, Shades of Green, or the Orlando ITT.

The other thing to note is that the friend loses their ability to use their 6 ticket benefit for the remainder of this current offer.

My mother has a dependent military id & was able to buy the military tickets, but I’m worried that we won’t be able to activate them. Both of her parents are deceased. I think ITT failed to read the card and thought she is a spouse. Is there a chance Disney will still activate them?

I’d try to take them back to ITT first. If that fails you can try the Disney route.

I have heard of tickets being sold on eBay, but the buyer has no guarantee that the tickets are valid and would have to be a military member who hasn’t used their 6 for the year. Yhey’d be looking for a discount off the regular price…

my husband is active duty army, were planning on going to WDW when he gets back from his deployment, the problem is we don’t know when his block leave will be, and we probably wont know for a while. were hoping itll be sometime in sept or October. were wanting to go for 8 days. we also are wanting to do some character meals for our 3 year old son. so my question is are we going to miss out on things if we can’tbe making reservations already. how quickly does the shades of green get filled and how quickly do the character meals get filled? also do you know why there isn’t free transportation from the airport to shades of green? everytime I talk to someone about staying on Disney property they say there is free transportation from the airport. thank you.

When Shades fills up depends on how busy the time of year is that you are talking about. The very busy times start getting reserved a year out and can fill up quick, but slower times are available right up to that timeframe.

The Walt Disney World Company is a huge company which absorbs/spreads amongst all the guests the cost of their “free” transportation. Shades is just a single hotel and can’t do that, it would cost too much. They could work a deal with WDW but that would cost as well (They haven’t even worked out free theme park parking for Shades guests).

You’ll note that Dave recommends Disney resorts over Shades and with the Disney Armed Forces Salute Disney moderates and values are often comparable or less than Shades and then you’ll have all the Disney amenities including free airport transportation.

Thank you so much for all the great info. Were expecting to be going in Sept or Oct. Which from what I’ve read doesn’t seem to be a busy time there. Im not sure if we could find a better deal than shades of green, since my husband is deployed they are offering a 20% discount for those who have just come back from a deployment which means our room will be about 70 bucks per night. I don’t know if I was looking in the wrong place but the couple Disney resorts I looked up the price was well over that. I will look into the other resorts more though, any ideas on which would be around or less than 70 bucks a night? I was also wondering, does shades of green have a bus that goes to downtown Disney?

sorry one more question…if we use a military discount to stay at a Disney resort and we happen to be there at a time when they are offering a free dining plan does that mean we have to chose between the discount or the free dining plan?

–You won’t find a better deal than $70/night
–Ignore what follows, see Steve’s note below!!–Shades does not have a bus to Downtown Disney The simplest way to get from Shades to DTD is to walk to the Polynesian bus stop across the street and catch the Poly bus to DTD. There’s also more complicated ways to do it with less walking…

Downtown Disney/Typhoon Lagoon: Once per hour
Leaves Shades of Green on the half hour (starting at 0830)
Leaves Typhoon Lagoon at 10 till the hour (Space #9 from 0950)
Leaves Downtown Disney on the hour (at the top of lot E by the burnt orange building)

You can purchase your Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets at any military base ticket office, Shades of Green at WDW, The Orlando ITT (all of these with no tax added) or from Disney ticket windows (plus tax).

Hi Dave,
Has Disney World ever extended the time on a military salute ticket if requested? My family was on vacation to Disney World the last week in June when my daughter had an emergency and had to get her appendix removed so my family were not able to use two of the four day tickets. I emailed Disney World as they requested for ticket questions and attached all the necessary information to include her hospital records and they emailed me back today saying sorry for your mishap but there is nothing they can do for me. Is this a dead end street or is there still hope to get my unused two day tickets extended so I can come back in the Spring or next summer? It is not like I am asking for a refund.

Gina, as things stand right now, my guess is no. If DIsney “extends” the salute–whihc it may do it has done that befroe, then you’ll be ok. If it does a new offer–or doesn’t renew it at all–my guess is that all the bureaucracies involved (Disney and DOD) will get in the way…

I am gonna ask my expert to weigh in, so don’t treat this as the last word…

My thoughts run parallel to the second part of what Dave said. Currently the Disney Armed Forces Salute has a set in stone end date. and unless you can get there to use your 2 remaining days prior to 28 September I think you’ll be out of luck.

On the bright side you still paid less than a comparable 2 day ticket for the 2 days you used.

My only thought is that on your next trip you could bring the tickets and all the documentation and try to find a sympathetic ear. WDW CMs have been known to stray outside the rules in favor of the guest. Gut I’d say it is a long shot.

I have no indication from Disney right now that the current Salute would be extended past the current end date.

Hello,
My cousin purchased our tickets here at a base in Ft. Worth,TX. They will not be going to Disney, as she didnt get her vacation approved. Can we activate the tickets w/o her if she lends us her ID?

Only a military member or spouse can activate the Disney Armed Forces Salute tickets and it must be in person at a Disney park. The reason being is that the purpose of these highly discounted tickets is for the military member to spend time with family and friends in Disney’s parks, not to give the tickets away or to sell them.

Plus how would your cousin have access to the base and computer network to work without their ID?

If your cousin bought the Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way tickets rather than the AFS tickets (these are just slightly discounted) they could be used without your cousin, if they are the ready for use kind and don’t need to be exchanged at the park with an ID (Disney sends both kinds to bases).

Perhaps if they got the AFS tickets they could attempt to exchange them at their Base Ticket Office.

I called disney works 4 times. The first two times, they said I’d be perfectly fine. However today, I called just to triple check.. And they said I have a problem.

My dad is an active duty Lieutenant Colonel of the Army.
He purchased two 4-day park hopper tickets for me and my Girlfiend. (I’m 22 and she’s 21).
We got the tickets in the mail last week (very exciting!)
I called today to triple check on the situation, and asked “my girlfriend and I are driving 16 hours to Orlando, and I just wanted to triple check that we will be able to get into the park as long as I had my military I.D. (I’m still under my Dad’s insurance, so I get most benefits that he gets)
Today the women on the phone said that she’s pretty sure he has to be there at least on the first day of the trip, in Disney to activate the tickets.
This is a problem because he can not just come down to Florida for one day and then go back home.
I was told twice before that I would be completely fine getting into the park if I have my military I.D.
I’m extremely stressed out. Trip is in 2 weeks. Please help.

Bren, everything I’ve ever seen or heard on this is that the eligible member or spouse must be there in person to activate the tickets. I’m sorry you were led astray…I’ll reach out to some experts to see if they have any thoughts for you…

Thanks for responding so quickly, Dave.
I would really appreciate it if you did that for us. I just feel like my Dad should be allowed to buy Disney tickets as a gift for a family member who has a military I.D.

Or that there should be a way that he is able to activate the tickets while being in Pennsylvania rather than Florida with special permission.
Again, I would extremely appreciate it if you could reach out to those people.
Thanks Dave,
-Bren

First I want to address one of your points. Disney offers the Disney Armed Forces Salute tickets to military members at a huge discount so that they can spend time with family and friends in Disney’s parks. The intended purpose isn’t to give them away or worse scalp them, which is why Disney put in place very restrictive rules.

The Base TIcket Office where your dad purchased the tickets should have told him the rules. The military member or spouse has to activate these tickets in person at a Disney park and one of the tickets has to be for the member/spouse. Non spouce dependents are not eligible for this discount.

Disney does still offer the Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way tickets, which are slightly discounted tickets. Many Bases sell a variety.

I’d have your dad take the tickets back to where he got them and ask that they apply his cost to tickets that you can use as they didn’t inform him of the rules.

I’m not sure this will work as the tickets are non refundable. But tell him to stress that they didn’t tell him the rules for use of the Disney Armed Forces Salute tickets.

A very last resort would be taking the tickets and his receipt to WDW, perhaps with a copy of his ID and a letter from him explaining what happened. They “might” let you use the cost of the tickets towards full price tickets.

Excellent point Dave, if she knows any military member really who will be going prior to 28 Sept. she could swap her AFS tickets plus some cash for the Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way tickets.

Hi, Dave! Your site has been a tremendous help to me in planning our family’s first trip to Disney World – thank you so much! I haven’t found a better website or resource anywhere – yours is wonderful. We’re planning our trip for March 2-9, 2014 and want to stay at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge resort. My husband and I have 3 kids (2 girls ages 6 and 4, and a toddler son who will be almost 23 months when we go), and we’re taking my parents with us. My dad is retired military, so I’m torn between 2 options that are available to us at this time: a 2 bedroom villa for all 7 of us (which is what we’ve wanted all along), or the combination of a 1 bedroom villa for my husband/me/kids and a deluxe suite for my parents with the HOPE that Disney will be able to connect us in a “lock off.” The reason it’s a difficult decision is that there is currently a military discount (35%, maybe?) for the 1 bedroom villa and deluxe suite…making it about $3,000 less than a 2 bedroom villa. That’s a huge savings and really hard to pass up, but we really want to be connected to my parents if at all possible. Do you have an idea of what the odds might be for us to get a “lock off” that week? Could we hope for that, or would we most likely be separate from my parents if we take advantage of the militaty discount? (And in that case, do you think that Disney would at least be able to put us close to each other?) My mom is fighting an aggressive form of breast cancer right now (but she’ll be done with chemo and surgery by then), so we really want her – and my dad – to be able to enjoy the “magic” and experience the excitment with our kids as much as possible. Thank you for your feedback on this!

Thank you so much, Dave! That helped a whole lot. In fact, given the smallness of the property (looking at the map again helped, too – thanks for the link), we actually decided not to gamble on a l0ck-off and instead book two 1 bedroom villas. Your review on the studios helped me realize that 2 separate villas will be worth it (with the military discount, of course), since no matter what, we won’t be far apart. I’d been torn on the options before, but I feel much better about this arrangement — thank you again so much!!! You and your site have been more informative than our travel agent. I’ll be sending family and friends your way in the future!

Hello Mr. Dave my very large family (13 total) will be flying from Washington state to Florida for a week long vacation in February to Disney world ans surrounding attractions this will be our first time their. My questions do you have any tips to help save some big money on this trip both my husband and I are active duty military but with such a large group of us 7 adults and 6 children it makes it hard for me to find deep discounts or even a place large enough to accommodate such a large group any suggestions would be greatly appreciated Thanks in advance

That is a big question, so rather than typing everything out I’ll be linking to info on my site as we go through this.

As Dave said the age of the kids matters for ticket prices. Kids under 3 are free and 3-9 use the child’s tickets which are less than the adult price. So in the case you need to revert to a lesser discount or full price ticket for part of your party it should be for a child.

With 2 active military you have a great advantage of sometimes being able to use 2 separate discounts.

yes sir thank you very much all your links are being very helpful and thank you for a fast response I appreciate both you and Mr. Dave’s help on assisting me and my family with planning our family vacation

There are two different types of military discounted tickets for Disney. there are the Disney Armed Forces Salute tickets and the Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way tickets.

The Disney Armed Forces Salute is a special program which allows military members to spend time with family and friends in Disney’s parks. Because of it’s purpose and large discount there are many rules, one of which is that the military member or their spouse must be part of the party and have a ticket for themselves. Per Disney’s rules the member must activate the tickets at WDW with the whole party present. The tickets may then be used individually.

So you would not be able to use these tickets without a military member with you to activate them. Any military member or spouse could do this for you. It does not need to be the person who bought the tickets. But each military member (oe spouse) only has the ability to activate 6 tickets during this offer, so they can’t have used up their benefit yet or want to use it themselves later.

I would not recommend doing this as using the tickets without a military member in your party as totally goes against the purpose of the discount.

The Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way tickets are slightly discounted tickets sold by Military Base Ticket Offices and Shades of Green. These are not restricted and your friend can buy them ahead of time for you without getting one for themselves. These are 1-10 day tickets with all the regular options you’d find at a Disney ticket booth. They do not need to be activated or require the member to be there,

Hi Dave!
My ex husband is active Army and he and I took our boys to Disney together about 3 years ago. I’m looking to take the boys while he’s deployed this next year and I was unsure if the kids would still qualify for the discount although he wouldn’t be with us? Do you know the stipulations of this?

First, we do not yet know if there will be a Disney Armed Forces Salute next year. The current offer ends on 27 Sept 2014. We most likely won’t know till July if Disney will renew it.

But, Dave is correct, disney discounts are for the member (or spouse in their place) not dependent children.

The Disney Armed Forces Salute has very strict rules on its use. The member must have a ticket of their own besides any for you or the kids. The tickets must be activated at Disney by the member with all members of the party there (this can be done ahead of time).

Baring being able to do that, your next best option is the Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way tickets,

There are two different types of military discounted tickets for Disney. there are the Disney Armed Forces Salute tickets and the Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way tickets.

The Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way tickets are slightly discounted tickets sold by Military Base Ticket Offices and Shades of Green. These are not restricted and he can buy them ahead of time for you without getting one for himself at his base. These are 1-10 day tickets with all the regular options you’d find at a Disney ticket booth.

Hi there! I really hope I’m not asking a duplicate question, but I didn’t see it above. My father died while on active duty and my mom and I both have Dependant cards. Is she still eligible for the salute tickets?

My husband is retired military. We are planning to take our daughter and her family to WDW the end of October. Hoping the military discounts will be renewed. If we book 2 rooms (and the discount is renewed) would they have to check in on the same day as we do? My husband is the military member. Their dates don’t quite coinside with ours. Thanks

My son in law is an active marine. My husband and I are paying for the entire family to go to disney and we are going to have my son in law purchase the tickets through the military so that we can receive the discounted prices. So here is the question…there are 9 of us, can my daughter (marine spouse) purchase 3 tickets through the Disney Armed Forces Salutes Theme Park Tickets program and my son in law (marine) purchase 6 through the regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way ticket progam?

I apologize if this has been answered. My husband passed away in Iraq in 2007. We had one child together. I have since remarried and we were wanting to take my son to disney world in September. I know wdw already told me that my son is not eligible for their salute to service tix. However they told me to contact shades of green. I have called them and left a message. My question is would my son be eligible to purchase the discounted tickets through shades of green with his dependent Id card?

First though, non-spouse dependents are not eligible for the Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets. Only the member, or spouse in their place is. So there is no way you could use these.

You may be able to buy the regular military discounted Magic Your Way tickets from Shades. These will only save you between 4 and 8 percent though depending on length and options.

I say may, because Shades is a military installation and it is no different from asking if he could buy something from the Base Exchange at a base near you. You have to get on base and then the sales person would need to let you pay for his purchase.

Definitely give it a try, as long as you don’t mind waiting until you arrive to get your tickets and foregoing the use of FastPass Plus advance reservations.

DoD civilians can buy tickets at slightly reduced rates at their base ticket offices. They are also eligible to stay at the Shades of Green Resort at WDW and also to buy tickets from Shades at the same slight discount.

Unfortunately they are not eligible for the Disney Armed Forces Salute tickets though, as it takes a current military ID to activate them.

Tagging in on Dave’s reply. As a dependent you are not eligible for the Disney Armed Forces Salute, but you can go to your local Base Ticket Office and purchase the Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way tickets.

These are way less savings (4-8% off the gate price based on length and options) but can be used without the member being present.

We are a military family PCSing this summer and will be staying there at the Wilderness Resort…we plan on getting our hoppers through the military rate…do you know of any other military plans we can take advantage of…was there at some point a dining option? Thank you for your help!

Disney itself offers no military discounts on food or dining. Their strong feeling as relayed to me is that they have offered enough with the half off tickets and 30-40% off rooms.

There are a few non-Disney food, merchandise, and entertainment options at Downtown Disney which do offer military discounts. Two of the restaurants are favorites of mine (Raglan Road & House of Blues).

[…] Military Families at Walt Disney World – yourfirstvisit.net … – … my daughter had an emergency and had to get her appendix removed so my family were not able to use two of the four day tickets. I emailed Disney World as they requested for ticket questions and … I was wondering if sea world and other places still do military discount or free entries … […]

Hey, I have a couple of questions that I hope you can help me with. I have a family of 5 that me and my husband have been saving to take them to WDW. I mention this to my aunt a couple months ago (who is retired military) that we would be visiting her in Florida either at the end of the year or beginning of next year. She mentioned to me that she gets awsome discounts on hotels and tickets for WDW, which has me super excited because that would save us over have of the amount that we were planning on spending. We are planning a week long trip (Sunday thur Sunday) to WDW in a couple of months and my aunt states that she can only be there on Sunday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. My biggest concern is that if she uses here discount for the resort will there be any problems with us staying there the whole 8 days and she is only there partially? And also will there be any problem with us using the tickets with her not being there everyday? Thanks?

The best deals for military folk, at the moment, expire at the end of September 2015. It’s widely expected that they will be renewed, bit that won’t be certain til it happens.

After that, your need for her will depend on the specifics of the deal. For example, a hotel deal for her, if offered, has to include her on the reservation, and she has to check you in. A ticket deal–if offered–will most likely give you only 4 days worth of tickets, she’ll have to buy and activate one herself, and she will have to be physically present the first time you use them.

Hi Dave. My question expands on Zoe’s a little. Our travel circumstance are similar. Family of 5 arriving on a Sunday. Two of them are both retired Air Force. But we have 4 others that won’t be able to arrive until Wednesday night. Will we be able to add a third room & activate 4 additional tickets after both of our retired military members have been there, checked in as guests of the resort & activated their tickets?

I am a daughter of a military retiree and my question is: Am I able to purchase the military discounted tickets if I am a dependent (child)? Everywhere I read it says the person in the military or the spouse can, but what about a child? I plan on flying out to Florida for vacation and I would love to visit WDW and Universal Orlando. I am 21 years old and hold a valid military dependent ID. Looking forward to your response. Thank you!

I father is retired military and I have an old dependent card. We planned on doing a family trip to Disney, so he bought me and my wife the salute tickets. We are scheduled to leave in two weeks, but now my dad cannot come! What are the chances that the Disney workers just generally gaze at my ID and activate our tickets? I can’t imagine that they are really grilling the ID if it looks halfway legit. Thanks!

Sorry but Disney absolutely does check IDs to ensure that only those who are eligible for the Armed Forces Salute discount receive those benefits.

On dependent ID cards Disney cast members are looking for SP (spouse) in the relationship block as non-spouse dependents are not eligible. The member or their spouse are the only ones able to activate Salute tickets.

The intended use of these tickets is for the member (or spouse in their place) to spend time with family and friends in the Disney parks, not to give them away.

As these tickets are non-refundable and your father cannot come, you are in a bit of a bind.

I recommend that you bring the tickets he bought for you, as well as the one he was required to buy for himself along with his receipt for the purchase with you. Also have him write and sign a letter explaining that he is unable to come and would like you to be able to use the purchase price of the Salute tickets towards full price tickets. You should also bring a photocopy if his military ID front and back.

With these items, Disney should allow you to use the tickets towards those that you will need.

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